


Study Abroad

by Cl7250



Series: Kagehina Works [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, New York, No Volleyball, United States, kageyama's actually smart, studying abroad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cl7250/pseuds/Cl7250
Summary: Kageyama Tobio is studying abroad in suburban New York and meets Hinata Shoyou, who has already adjusted to American culture. (Teen and Up because of homophobia from other characters, and internalized homophobia)
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Series: Kagehina Works [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646209
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16





	1. Escaping Home

**Author's Note:**

> Kageyama is a lot different in this because he does not have volleyball. So instead, I've made him intelligent, since he is described as a genius when it comes to volleyball. Canonically, I know he is not good at school.

Kageyama sighed, crouching under a streetlight as a shadow figure rubbed against his leg. He had made friends over the years he lived in this neighborhood, since he was born, with a black cat. His oddly superstitious family thought it was taboo, but Angel, the black cat with beautiful acid green eyes, seemed too cat-like to be an evil spirit or a bad omen.  
So, Kageyama always pets the cat, which would leap out from the bottom of random porch decks when she would spot Kageyama walking down the narrow streets of suburban Japan after a long day. He longed to live someplace different, with nicer people, and he was finally given that chance.  
It had been a hard month for Kageyama after coming out to his family. His father couldn’t make eye contact with him, and his mother’s kindness was no longer out of love, but out of practice. The kids at school he never bonded with, because they were all immature and he saw them as wasted time anyways. They didn’t like him anyway. He was a bad sport with a big temper, they call his autistic and gay, but in much harsher ways.  
He kept all his personality inside, didn’t talk anymore, and sat alone at lunch. He never had a best friend, except for those short friendships as a small child. No one likes a bad temper, but everyone seems to like bullies that pick on the weak. High school didn’t feel like an experience, it felt like a battlefield or a jungle.  
The only thing that made his father proud was his ability to speak other languages. Kageyama was pretty good in school, he never struggled, which his family loved. He worked his ass off, just to have his family love him.  
“I guess it's also to get away from them too…”, Kageyama thought, sitting down completely on the curb as Angel stepped onto his lap. He had a feeling Angel knew that she wasn’t going to see him for a while.  
Kageyama rummaged through his pocket, dodging Angel nudging at his hand. She sniffed at his pocket as he opened his palm to reveal brown star-shaped cat treats. She nibbled on one aggressively, as Kageyama pulled back his hand. He knew if he kept it out, she would try to eat as many as she could at once.  
“I'm going to miss you, Angel,” Kageyama whispered as she licked his hand, then his cheek, he laughed, and kissed the top of her head.  
“I have all my things packed up, it's so empty in there. My father seems excited to bring me to the airport though. It seems he wants me to leave.”  
Angel flopped into his lap, and he brought his knees up at an incline and put his head on her. Something felt caught in his throat as if it was trying not to breathe, but he knew the feeling like an old friend. The thought of his family, the ones who chose to have him and love him for 14 years, now hating him just because he was gay.  
Kageyama never thought that being gay made him any more different than closeted Kageyama. He still had a temper, an obsession with American pop music and sit-coms, and a little bit of a lisp. His parents loved and regarded all those things, why did they hate him now?  
He couldn’t tell anyone his woes, except for his neighbor’s outdoor cat. Though she probably couldn’t understand him at all, she listened intently, even without the treat bribery.  
He had never felt so lonely in the world until he was himself, and apparently that was wrong. No wonder the guys at school always made fun of him at school for being gay, even though they didn’t know. Being gay must truly be as bad as they make it, but Kageyama still didn’t know why.  
Angel squirmed, and Kageyama lifted up his head. He nudged her off and set the extra treats onto her owner’s path walk. She did not look at it though, instead, she stepped on Kageyama shoes, blocking his path from his house.  
“I’m sorry my Angel, I have to go.” She meowed at him, her intense eyes glaring at him, “Maybe she did understand me.”  
“I know, I don’t want me to go either. But America will be so much better than here. I promise that I’ll be back, and I’ll buy you lots of cute cat toys and treats.”  
She stepped away and rubbed against his legs for the last time in a while. Kageyama brought down his hand, let her sniff it before running a hand through her short silky fur.  
-  
Kageyama hit his head on the head of his bed when he woke up. His heart was thumping out of his chest and he tried to catch his breath. A bright beam of sun coming from his askew curtains startled him, he usually got up for school before the sun rose.  
Kageyama heard a knock at the door as he tousled around his room for his socks. His mother opened it shyly, and watched him put on one sock before speaking, “Tobio, you have another hour before you need to get read. I let you sleep in. Your father is downstairs making breakfast. Don’t make a mess out of your suitcase!”  
She closed the door quickly, and Kageyama calmed down and stared blankly at the door. Usually, she would barge into the room without knocking, scolding him for making too much noise, and Kageyama and her would laugh together while she helped him find clothes. He loved his mother, but now that mother has turned into less of a mother figure, and more like a robot that was programmed to be a mother.  
Kageyama slipped on a random sock he found tucked into the corner of one of his suitcases and went downstairs. His father, a tall and skinny man with a young face, like him, was only visible through the reflection of the window in front of the sink. A lone plate sat at the wooden kitchen table, a bowl of rice with nothing else. Kageyama felt the cold shoulder from the lack of food, and he hunched down as he shoveled the food in his mouth.  
His mother talked lightly, as if she was in another room, to his father as they both washed the dishes. Kageyama finished his food quickly and alerted his parents that he was going outside. His mother turned around and nodded, his father grunted.  
He put on his shoes, and walked out the front door and down the stairs. Before going on his trip abroad for his 2nd year of high school, he had to at least go to two weeks of school. He said his goodbyes to his teachers, which he had a few from his first-year that he liked, and didn’t even bother to bond with his second-year teachers.  
He walked down the street, which he never thought he would have time to do again, or that his house would be so oddly tense this morning. Angel appeared, shocking him, and walked next to his as he did laps around his neighborhood. Angel struggled to keep up as Kageyama tucked his hands into his pants pockets.  
He sighed as his free hour passed, and he gave Angel a gentle hug and left her out on the sidewalk, while she meowed at him.  
-  
He was wrong about the house being tense, the ride to the airport was even worse. The radio was off, his father was tapping his fingers on the central console of the car while his mother gazed out the window, staring at things she’s already seen a thousand times before.  
It frustrated him, the tense air, it was unnecessary but unavoidable. Because being gay was apparently bad. Which made Kageyama even worse.  
As they walked through the airport, and the woman spoke occasionally announcing flights, his mother kept whispering in his father’s ear, as if she was trying to persuade him to do something.  
He heard a ding, and the woman announced in both English and Japanese that the flight to New York was ready to be boarded. Kageyama instantly got up but was shocked as his mother grabbed his wrist.  
He turned around and stepped back and watched his father get up reluctantly after his mother. She pulled his into an awkward hug, and then pulled him back to admire him.  
“I’m so proud of you my little Tobio,” Kageyama gushed at the nickname, “I made sure that you have an amazing family in New York. You’re going to love it there.”  
His father cleared his throat, “Me too.”  
Kageyama nodded at his father, who nodded back, and his mother’s touch lingered as he reached for his second suitcase, along with the backpack that was resting next to where Kageyama was once sitting. He waved at his mother as he started to go down the tunnel towards the airplane entrance.


	2. Suburban Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama arrives to New York and figures out why his mom said that he was going to LOVE his host family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the place Kageyama is going to be living in is going to be heavily based on my hometown in central NY. I can't imagine anywhere else for an American town setting besides my own in a realistic story, oops :).

The ride on the plane was nerve-wracking, and Kageyama wasn’t one to get a nervous stomach, but he felt a rollercoaster going on as the plane began to take off. The flight attendant, an American blonde woman with gray eyes that reminded Kageyama of his mother noticed his trouble and grabbed him a drink.  
It was free of charge, which was nice, Kageyama knew that she pitied him because he was all alone on the plane without his parents. He didn’t think he looked that young, but with the thought swirling around his head that was the least of his worries currently.  
He scooched over to the window seat since there weren't many people on the plane, and watched the water of the ocean underneath him as soon as they got off land.  
A 14-hour trip until he reaches New York City, and then a 6 six drive to wonderful New York City to dull Central New York. He wasn’t informed much about the people he was being hosted by, except for their names are Blake and Charlotte Davis. No pictures, no nothing. Just his mother’s warm smile as she exclaimed, “Oh, you’re going to love them!”  
-  
Kageyama was startled awake for the third time by unsettling turbulence, and he looked outside to see buildings...actual buildings… He hadn’t seen land in 12 hours, so he got closer to the glass, pressing his face up against it to marvel at the lights and close buildings. He knew he wasn’t going to see it long, so he was going to have to act fast. The flight attendant chuckled behind him.  
“First time being in New York?”She asked.  
Kageyama paused and smiled at her, “First time being in America”  
She smiled at him and continued, “Hope you enjoy it here. We’ll be landing fairly soon, so get that seat belt on so I don’t get in trouble.”  
Kageyama nodded swiftly, and continued to stare out the window at the plane began to decline, and announcements in English began to play over the speakers.  
-  
Kageyama watched the luggage go around the carousel as the chaos surrounded him. He wasn’t used to it since he pretty much lived in the ‘country’ part of Japan, which was much less crowded than bustling NYC.  
People went in every direction, and Kageyama couldn’t even hear his thoughts. Some tourists, either Asian or from other parts of the U.S, paused in large groups in corners or by large window panes. Some people waited with welcome home signs or little laminated white sheets with people’s names in bold on the front. Kageyama grabbed his last bag, identical to his first, and adjusted his backpack.  
He ventured into the crowd, crossing until he could get towards the side with people waiting with signs. He scanned for what he imagined Blake and Charlotte would look like. What he did not expect is a biracial lesbian couple pushing through the crowds of people at full speed smiling at him and yelling while waving a photo of him, his school photo, in their hands.  
-  
They introduced themselves. Charlotte was pasty white, with cheeks that were constantly blushing red as far as Kageyama could tell. She wore pastel clothing with light jeans and bulky high shoes. She already treated him as if he was her son, as did her lovely wife Blake. Blake has beautiful curls, which expanded out into an afro which she wrangled together with a hair tie and a red bandana. She looked like those American Instagram models Kageyama saw for American tomboy companies. They both never stopped smiling as soon as they met him, and boasted about how much fun they were going to have with him. Kageyama didn’t mind their back-and-forth constant talking, because he couldn’t find the words to fill the space they left for him.  
His mother was right, he already loves his host family, because he finally feels safe and that he belongs.  
-  
When Kageyama finally opened the door with the new key Blake gave him, he was immediately attacked by a large blur with spots. The suitcase which he dragged up after fighting Charlotte to carry something besides his bag clattered to the ground. Blake laughed as Kageyama closed his eyes shut to block a large amount of slobber from going into them. Above him, a large Great Dane put both paws on his chest and attacked him with kisses.  
He’d never seen a dog this big before.  
“Blake! Margo!” Charlotte exclaimed, shooing the dog off of him, “Why didn’t you call her off?”  
“She just wanted to say hello. It’s not like she would bite him…”Blake replied, smiling at Kageyama and the dog.  
“Margo is the dog, correct?”Kageyama asked, reaching a hand out, which the dog stuck into her mouth. He pulled away quickly.  
“Yes, she’s two years old, and a lot of trouble, Huh?”Charlotte replied, rubbing the dog’s head.  
“Not harmful, at all. She’s a lovebug.”  
Kageyama nodded, never hearing the word ‘love-bug’ before, but noting love and bug, which probably meant she was friendly by her attitude.  
“Well, let's show you your room before the sun goes down.”  
-  
Charlotte took Kageyama and Margo for a walk around the neighborhood, showing him all the hotspots for kids her age, mentioning that she also lived in this neighborhood as a kid.  
“Couldn’t get enough of this place as a kid, so I thought me and Blake could move here and raise kids of our own. Might as well start out slow, so that’s why we decided to host you.”  
She asked him different questions like how it was at home, which he explained his previous situation.  
“Ugh, I remember having homophobic parents as a teenager, it sucked. My father became more adjusted, that man would do anything for me, but my mother wouldn’t budge. Your mom told us about what was going on at home, and she said maybe we could make you feel better about yourself. No one, and I mean no one Tobio, deserves to be mistreated because of who they are and something they can’t control,  
“It took me a long time to accept myself when I was younger, I never fit in with all the straight girls in my grade until I got into high school. So many people who were just like me. You know, that’s where I met Blake. Though, she looked much different from now. I’ll show you our photos from marching band when I get home. She used to play the tuba.”  
Kageyama smiled and laughed at this, imagining Blake carrying a giant tuba. Charlotte let Kageyama attempt to walk Margo, who was gentle on the leash until another animal or person would walk by, which would get her excited and she would tug.  
Finally, Charlotte showed him a large river, which bent around muddy land in the woods which surrounded half of the neighborhood. A small sturdy bride went over the small stream where ducks swam and bugs flew across. Large pie trees grew at odd angles covered in mud, along with a bent bike that was abandoned at the river bank.  
“A little secret place I went with my friends, absolutely beautiful in the winter, but freezing cold. You can climb the trees here too, they’ll hold your weight.”  
-  
After a weird American dinner, Grilled Barbecue chicken and asparagus, which Kageyama was still confused about, he went off to bed in his bland white room, which was now filled with his belongings and his clothing. He didn’t know what he was going to wear tomorrow, there were no school uniforms at this school. Kageyama was told American public schools were scary and dangerous, but Blake told him that the kids are nicer than they used to be, or at least she hoped.  
Charlotte allowed Margo to sleep in Kageyama’s room, and she settled at the bottom of his bed lying on top of extra blankets set on the bottom in case he got cold. She snored, sometimes loudly, and Kageyama browsed on his phone until he dozed off, aching with anticipation and anxiety for the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had an image in my mind of Charlotte and Blake when I thought about them from the day I made this story. They have the relationship I strive for when I get married, and I was in love with them from the start.

**Author's Note:**

> I will have another chapter up soon, so this will not update slowly. Besides this, I only have one other writing project. I hope this long fanfic has a lot of potential. Stay safe everyone!


End file.
